Linearly sliding seat and apparatus

ABSTRACT

A slidable seating apparatus may be described. The slidable seating apparatus can include a mounting rail, a first support coupled to the mounting rail; a second support coupled to the mounting rail; and a seat mounted on a carrier, wherein the arm slidably couples to the mounting rail.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/709,516 filed Oct. 4, 2012 and entitled A TRAINING AID THAT RELIEVES THE STRESS ON THE KNEES OF A BASEBALL/SOFTBALL CATCHER/COACH, BUT NOT LIMITED TO USE ON THE BALL FIELD, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Many people involved in athletics and training programs are often in a crouching position for long periods of time. However, crouching creates soreness in the back, legs, knees, ankles, feet, calves, and other related body parts as a result of prolonged stresses from maintaining the crouching position. At times, an overturned bucket or small crate is used by coaches and others to provide support, but these structures are limited as they only provide a single height for crouching and they are stationary. A worker may commonly crouch to complete a task, but then to move on to another related task only a few feet away, the worker must either get up, move over, and crouch again or awkwardly slide/crawl over to begin the next task, both of which are poor options which only increase the strain on the worker's body.

Thus, current equipment does not provide support to people of different heights while in the crouching position and also does not provide for movement of the user.

SUMMARY

A slidable seating apparatus may be described. The slidable seating apparatus can include a mounting rail, a first support coupled to the mounting rail; a second support coupled to the mounting rail; and a seat mounted on a carrier, wherein the arm slidably couples to the mounting rail.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Advantages of embodiments of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments. The following detailed description should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying figures in which:

Exemplary FIG. 1 a shows a side profile of an embodiment of a linearly sliding seat.

Exemplary FIG. 1 b shows a top view of an embodiment of a linearly sliding seat.

Exemplary FIG. 2 a shows a side profile of a carrier portion of a linearly sliding seat.

Exemplary FIG. 2 b shows a front-view of a carrier portion of a linearly sliding seat.

Exemplary FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a rail of a linearly sliding seat.

Exemplary FIG. 4 shows a front-view of carrier fitting around a rail of a linearly sliding seat.

Exemplary FIG. 5 shows an end support of a linearly sliding seat.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the invention are disclosed in the following description and related drawings directed to specific embodiments of the invention. Alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention. Further, to facilitate an understanding of the description discussion of several terms used herein follows.

As used herein, the word “exemplary” means “serving as an example, instance or illustration.” The embodiments described herein are not limiting, but rather are exemplary only. It should be understood that the described embodiment are not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Moreover, the terms “embodiments of the invention”, “embodiments” or “invention” do not require that all embodiments of the invention include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation.

According to at least one exemplary embodiment, and generally referring to FIGS. 1-5, a linearly sliding seat may be described and shown. The linearly sliding seat can include a sliding portion and a base portion. The sliding portion may further include a carrier and a seat. The base portion may include a rail and end supports. The sliding portion may be configured to easily move linearly along the rail.

Referring generally to exemplary FIGS. 1 a and 1 b, a linearly sliding seat 100 may include a sliding portion 102 and a base portion 104. The sliding portion 102 may further include a carrier 110 and a seat 120. The base portion 104 may include a rail 130 and end supports 140.

Carrier 110 may be coupled to rail 130 such that carrier 110 can move freely in a substantially linear fashion along rail 130. Seat 120 may be coupled to carrier 110 by way of bolts, screws, adhesive, or any other technique, as desired. Further, seat 120 may be coupled to carrier 110 in a rigid fashion or in a fashion which allows seat 120 to swivel in relation to carrier 110, as desired. Seat 120 may be a foam padded seat, a metal or plastic bucket seat, or any other suitable seating device, as desired. Further, seat 120 may be coupled to an accessory plate 122. Accessory plate 122 may be coupled to seat 120 by way of simple fasteners, such as snap-together, clamp-on, screw-on, or pin-on, or as desired. Accessory plate 122 may provide a platform to which to attach any of a variety of accessories, for example a ball bucket attachment, a radar gun attachment, an umbrella attachment, a video camera attachment, a safety screen attachment, or any other manner, as desired. Carrier, 110, rail 130, and end supports 140 may be constructed of metal, heavy-duty plastic, or any other strong and durable material, as desired. In some embodiments, carrier 110, rail 130, and end supports 140 can be constructed of a lightweight material to facilitate ease of transport and maneuverability. For example, carrier 110, rail 130, and end supports 140 may be constructed of aluminum.

Referring now to exemplary FIGS. 2 a and 2 b, carrier 110 may include a substantially rectangular sleeve with a top side 112 and a bottom side 114, and at least two wheel assemblies 116 coupled to sleeve bottom side 114. Top side 112 may include means to couple to seat, as described above. Each wheel assembly 116 may include a wheel support 117 and at least two wheels 118. Wheel support 117 may couple to sleeve bottom 114 and provide an axis around which wheels 118 may rotate. Wheels 118 may be constructed of a strong and durable material, for example heavy-duty plastic. Wheel assemblies 116 may be located substantially at the midpoint between the two sides of carrier 110, and oriented such that the rotation of wheels 118 allow carrier to move in a substantially linear direction along rail 130 as described below.

Referring to exemplary FIGS. 3 and 4, rail 130 may be a long, substantially rectangular portion and may include a curtain 132. Curtain 132 may be made of a single piece of material, or multiple pieces welded or otherwise coupled together, as desired. Curtain 132 may be shaped substantially like a hollow three-dimensional rectangle with one primary long axis. Rail 130 and curtain 132 may be of any length. Located along the middle of the bottom of curtain 132 there may be an opening 134. Opening 134 may be sized to snugly fit wheel support 117. On either side of opening 134 the bottom portion of curtain 132 may include supports 136. Supports 136 may provide linear tracks along which wheels 118 may roll.

Referring now to exemplary FIG. 5 and FIG. 1 a, end support 140 may include two or more legs 142, a pole sleeve 144, a pole 146, and an end mount 148. Legs 142 may stick out at an angle from pole sleeve 144 to provide stability to the structure. Legs 142 may be tubular or rectangular in shape, or as desired. Further, the bottoms of legs 142 may be sealed to prevent filing with foreign materials such as dirt, mud, or grass. Additionally, legs 142, or any other aspect of sliding seat 100 may be formed or coated so as to be weatherproof or substantially durable regardless of the conditions of use. Pole sleeve 144 may be oriented in a substantially vertical orientation, or as desired. Legs 142 and pole sleeve 144 may be bolted or welded together, or coupled in any secure and rigid fashion, as desired. Pole 146 may be received by pole sleeve 144 and may be inserted or extracted farther into or out of pole sleeve 144 to adjust the height of the whole apparatus. To maintain a desired height, pin 147 may be inserted into one of multiple holes located along the length of pole 146 such that when pressure is applied to the top of pole 146, pin 147 protrudes sufficiently to rest on top of pole sleeve 144 and thereby arrest any further downward motion of pole 146. End mount 148 may be located on top of pole 146. End mount 148 may include recess 149. Recess 149 may be sized and shaped to securely receive rail 130 (not shown). When end support 140 is assembled together with rail 130 and carrier 110, end mount 148 may arrest the linear motion of carrier 110 along rail 130. Preferably, for satisfactory stability, end mount 148 may be oriented such that when rail 130 is received in recess 149, the primary axis of rail 130 may have a perpendicular component relative to the orientations of at least two legs 142. Pole 146 and end mount 148 may be bolted or welded together, or coupled in any secure and rigid fashion, as desired.

Referring generally to exemplary FIGS. 1-5, the fully assembled linearly sliding seat 100 may include seat 120 coupled to carrier 110; carrier 110 may fit around rail 130 such that wheels 118 may rest on supports 136, allowing carrier 110 to move in a substantially horizontal linear direction along rail 130; both ends of rail 130 may be received in recesses 149 located proximately at the top of end supports 140. The height of the fully assembled apparatus may adjusted utilizing pole sleeve 144, pole 146, and pin 147 by changing which hole pin 147 of pole 146 is inserted. For example, the bottom of rail 130 may be adjusted from six inches to 18 inches. This adjustment can allow users of different heights to sit on seat 120 and remain comfortably supported in a crouched position. Further, a user may set the heights of the two ends of rail 130 to different heights, for example for use as exercise equipment.

In usage, a user may sit upon seat 120 while in a crouching position. The feet of a user may rest on the ground, allowing the user to propel him or herself upon seat 120 along rail 130. User may optionally make use of an accessory plate 122 to assist with the task user is performing. Because carrier 110 slides along rail 130, linearly sliding seat 100 may be utilized to allow user to move seat 120 along rail 130 regardless of the condition of the ground. For example, unlike on a rolling chair, a user may utilize linearly sliding seat 100 to easily move on seat 120 even if the ground is muddy.

According to another embodiment, ball bearings may be used to replace wheels 118. Further, other sliding components known in the art may be used, as desired.

According to yet another embodiment, rail 130 may be oriented substantially vertically. End support 140 may be modified to support the vertical orientation, for example in a quad-leg or flat-base design, or as desired.

The foregoing description and accompanying figures illustrate the principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the invention. However, the invention should not be construed as being limited to the particular embodiments discussed above. Additional variations of the embodiments discussed above will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that variations to those embodiments can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A slidable seating apparatus, comprising: a mounting rail; a first support coupled to the mounting rail; a second support coupled to the mounting rail; and a seat mounted on a carrier, wherein the arm slidably couples to the mounting rail.
 2. The slidable seating apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a first wheel coupled to the arm and a second wheel coupled to the carrier.
 3. The slidable seating apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first wheel is disposed in a first slot in a front face of the mounting rail and the second wheel is disposed in a rear face of the mounting rail to form a slidably engageable coupling.
 4. The slidable seating apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a seat back mounted on the seat.
 5. The slidable seating apparatus of claim 1, further comprising stops positioned at a proximal end of the mounting rail and a distal end of the mounting rail.
 6. The slidable seating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mounting rail has a plurality of holes disposed therein.
 7. The slidable seating apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one stopper may be positioned in at least one of the plurality of holes disposed in the mounting rail.
 8. The slidable seating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first support and the second support are flared into pairs of legs. 